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Skipping Stones
"Are you worth it?" "I don't know, am I?" "You're practically perfect, but..." "But what?" Blurb Rosepaw wasn't a great she-cat, but she tried her best to prove that she was worthy. She expected to fight wars to prove her strength, but instead, she had to struggle with love. She first encounters bullies, the natural ones who can't help but tease her. Then she proved her worth to them, she met Maplepaw. The beauty of her life. Prologue Holly gritted her teeth as she pushed harder and harder, knowing that she was giving birth to a kit. "Raggedtail, get your sorry butt over here!" She hissed, clenching her teeth in pain. The gray tom stalked over. "Aren't you done yet?" He sighed. "Does labor take this long?" "You're not the one going through it." Holly muttered. "If you were me, you would want it to finish quickly too! I'm not trying to delay and extend the pain." It was painful work, trying to get the stubborn kit out. "Are we really going to keep this kit too?" Raggedtail sighed, flicking his tail impatiently. "The Clan is after us, we can't lug along a kit too!" "The Clan is after you." Holly corrected. "I'm the poor she-cat that got tangled with you. As for the kit, let's decide after the kit has been born." Raggedtail rolled his eyes and began to pace around the perimeter of their small camp. "I know that FrostClan has stopped sending out patrols for now, but they could still be searching the area. We're still on their territory you know?" Holly snorted through her pain. "Then why don't you go looking for them? I'm sure they would be glad to put off their patrols by finding you." When the tom stared at her blankly, she snapped. "Just go and watch out for them, okay? This kitting may cause some pain." Raggedtail shrugged and just padded forward, pacing around their sheltered area to watch for patrols or other cats. Holly gritted her teeth as the kitting began. She clamped her jaws shut, trying not to scream in pain, knowing that if she did, FrostClan would be upon her instantly. "Are you quite done with it yet?" Raggedtail called back. Holly snarled back. "Do I look like I'm done yet?" The waved of pain was practically overwhelming her. The pain was terrible, yet fascinating at the same time. This was her first time kitting, yet it would probably be her last. "Now I wish I was in your stupid Clan and having a medicine cat to help me." Holly muttered, hissing in pain as another wave of shock bolted through her. Raggedtail abandoned his post when she screamed. "Stay with me, Holly. I don't care if the Clan finds us, I can't lose you now." "I'm not that weak, mouse-brain." Finally, from what felt like forever, a kit slid out. "I think that's all." Holly panted. "I'll name her Rose. She's be the bud of the Clan." "The Clan?" Holly snorted. "Do you even want this kit?" Raggedtail looked grim. "I guess not." He muttered. "I never really wanted one anyways, since we're always on the run and stuff." "Exactly. FrostClan is an affluent Clan, they can take care of Rose. Hopefully she won't be as bad as you." She added drily. Raggedtail just licked her cheek. "Let's go then. They'll find her soon, plus, we have to leave before FrostClan finds us. You screamed pretty loudly." Holly nodded and struggled to stand up. "I'll probably pass out when we finish this, and you'll have to take care of me." "Isn't that what I've always been doing?" Raggedtail snorted. Holly just limped away. "Whatever, you'll need to do it now for sure." Chapter One "Rosekit, from this moment on, you shall be known as Rosepaw. Birchfur, I hope you can pass on your skills to her." Robinstar mewed. Birchfur dipped his head to Robinstar. "I'll do my best." He promised. Then he leaned over and touched noses with me. "We'll start with touring the territory first." He purred, as Robinstar finished the ceremony. "I'm sure you'll find being in FrostClan great." His tail brushed against my flank. "Why don't you go talk with the other apprentices for the moment?" Birchfur suggested. "I have to talk with Robinstar first." I nodded and bounded over to the group of apprentices staring at me. I was used to the staring, since I was found under a bush six moons ago. Most had pity in their eyes, but two had hatred and scorn filling their eyes. "Why should we let you share a den with us?" Silverpaw snapped. "You're a rogue, and no more." Stormpaw nodded. "You're nothing but a horrible she-cat who's mother and father didn't want you. You're nothing." I stared them down. "Like you're any better." Silverpaw curled her lip, her dappled pelt shining in the sunlight. "You'll know, the warriors don't even like you, and the rest of us don't either." The other apprentices exchanged glances, but none of them spoke up about their opinions. Stormpaw only hissed. "You should go back the the Nursery, you were 'wanted' there, or even better, go back to your rogue home." Shaking my fur out, I stared at them coolly. "I'm sure the Clan would love that very much." I mewed sarcastically. "Is this what you do in your free time? Tease the poor new apprentices?" Silverpaw laughed. "You're different. Why should we treat you like one of us, when you're not? There are rumors that your parents were exiled FrostClan cats." Stormpaw licked her light gray fur. "And if that's true, then you shouldn't even be here. Nobody wants kits of an exiled cat!" The two sisters snickered and stared at me, expecting me to burst out crying or run away like a coward and a fool. But I didn't. "Whatever." I mewed scornfully. "You can do what you want, and I'll mind my own business. I'll show you what I'm made of though." Birchfur called to me. "Rosepaw, let's go now! I'm going to show you your territory." Silverpaw smirked. "See you later, scum." "No, we'll love you even more if you don't even show up at the den at night." Stormpaw added as I padded away nonchalantly. Those fools. ~ Birchfur strode towards the camp entrance as he talked. "We're going to head towards the LightningClan border first, since it's the closest." I nodded eagerly. "Do you think we'll get to see them?" My mentor laughed. "No, I don't think so. LightningClan likes to do their patrols at night, to make sure we're not sneak attacking them. Plus, they can see us from their camp if they're no patrolling." Sighing, I scampered after him towards the heat filled border. "It's so hot here." I panted. "How do they stand this heat?" Birchfur wrinkled his nose. "They're LightningClan." "That's a great response." I muttered. "Next, we'll head towards SilverClan. They have long and tall willow trees that give a touch of silver to the forest itself." Birchfur explained. I flicked my tail, "Silverpaw would fit right in there with Stormpaw." I mewed, purring a bit. Birchfur gave me a strict glance, but he didn't say anything. "They aren't far from the LightningClan border, and many times you can hear them yowling about crossing the border." I sniffed the air. The smell of willow trees hit me, and I breathed it in, sighing. I had a faint memory of being born with the smell of willow trees being the first thing I breathed in. Now, I had no idea how I still remembered that. "It's a great place to live, huh?" Birchfur noted, spotting my hopeful gaze. I sighed. "I don't know. It just smells familiar." "You've never been here before." Birchfur pointed out, looking confused. "I know, but I feel as though I've been here before." I mewed, looking around me. I didn't remember any of the landscapes, only the smell. Birchfur didn't say anything, only indicated for me to hurry onwards. "You know," he started awkwardly. "You're mother and father were scented around this area. This was where we found you." "And that's why everyone knows that I'm the daughter of an exiled FrostClan cat." I responded, tucking my tail closer to my body. My mentor didn't respond to that. "I think that's why you feel as though you've been here before. You were born here." "Oh." Birchfur's gaze lingered a second longer on me, then he turned to walk briskly towards the other direction. "This is the GorseClan border." He explained. "It's fairly close to us, so there's usually a lot of skirmishes between them and us." I stared at the leafy areas of the territory. "They don't have any trees." I realized. "They only have scrubs and bushes littering the floor." Birchfur looked satisfied. "That's right, and when leaf-bare comes, we're the first to be hit by the snow, which is why we're called FrostClan." That's so simple. I thought the Clans would be more complex, not just based on their enviroment. Was this the life I wanted? Do I have a choice? Chapter Two As I padded back into camp, Stormpaw and Silverpaw sneered at me. "Oh, did you find the forest too scary? Is that why you're padding back?" "Well," I carefully mewed. "Are you saying that you were all chickens and couldn't live in the wild yourself?" I countered. Silverpaw snorted. "No, we belong here. That's why we return everyday. You don't belong here, nevertheless get the chance to live with us!" "Who died and made you leader?" I snapped, shoving them aside to reach my nest. I was exhausted and wanted to sleep, though I would never admit that to them. Robinstar appeared behind them. "Certainly not me." Stormpaw's mouth gaped open a bit, then she mewed hurriedly. "We're really sorry, Robinstar, but Rosepaw was yelling at us, so we tried to tell her what was right, and then she was talking about how I was acting like I was the leader of FrostClan." Silverpaw nodded in agreement. Robinstar gave them a quick stare, then glared at me. "If they are right, then you ought to be ashamed of yourself, Rosepaw." "It's not true." I muttered. "What was that?" Robinstar growled icily. I sighed. "I understand, Robinstar." The leader of FrostClan straightened. "Good, now why don't Silverpaw and Stormpaw show you around the apprentices' den and find you a good nest?" Stormpaw smirked and led the way, her sister following behind her. I groaned inwardly and hurried after them, knowing that Robinstar trusted them more then me. Silverpaw flanked me, making it look as though they were welcoming me. She shoved me in and I stumbled ungracefully into the den. The other apprentices looked up, then saw the faces of Stormpaw and Silverpaw, and quickly looked away. They were obviously afraid of these two sisters. "So you'll get this nest at the far side of the den, that way nobody has to be near you." Stormpaw laughed. "Go ahead, all yours." There wasn't even a nest there. Just some scraps of moss that I found on the side. I quickly shaped it into a decent shaped nest and curled up to sleep. Silverpaw's sneering voice sounded in my ear, but I shut her out and went to sleep. ~ "Rosepaw!" I heard my name being called. "Rosepaw, it's time for us to start training!" Birchfur was outside yowling for me. Silverpaw began to mimic him. "Rosepaw! We need you, oh Rosepaw!" I glared at her and shoved my way past the barrier of brambles that was shielding me from the rest of the den. I don't know where that came from, but it was obvious that Stormpaw and Silverpaw must have built that there while I had been asleep. Growling at them as I barged past, I met Birchfur outside, tufts of my fur sticking out from fighting the brambles. Birchfur took one look at my fur, then sighed. "What happened now?" Shrugging, I mewed, "Just Silverpaw and Stormpaw being idiots." Fluffing out my fur, I purred. "So, what are we doing today?" Birchfur stared worriedly at the apprentices' den, then sighed. "We're doing hunting training today, since it's a good idea to know how to hunt in order to help FrostClan." I nodded slightly, and waited for him to give me my next order. "Alright, we're training with Maplepaw and Hazelpaw, since I know you don't bond well with the others." Wincing, I just shrugged and heard a snarky voice behind me growl. "We're training with her?" The brown tom smoothed out his fur, and the she-cat stared at me with comtempt burning in her eyes. "She's practically worthless!" Her mentor, Dapplestream gave her a quick cuff around the ear and turned to me. "I'm sorry about Hazelpaw's outburst, she's a bit prickly about new rogues joining the Clan." Maplepaw, the other tom, just stretched. "Whatever, she looks fine to me, Hazelpaw." Hazelpaw glared at him sourly and hissed in frustration. "I'm going hunting myself. Unlike her, I know how to hunt already." I bristled slightly, but I tried not to let it show. "She's a mouse-brain." Dapplestream sighed and hurried after the fuming apprentice. "It looks like she's not training today. I'll punish her, don't you worry, Rosepaw. You'll fit right in." Maplepaw curled his tail up in delight as he watched Hazelpaw stomp away. "It's always fun to see her grumpy expression." His mentor, Sparrowfur rolled his eyes. "I'm not sure when Hazelpaw's going to control that temper of hers, but it doesn't help much does it?" I let out a small purr, and I padded over to Maplepaw. "You're interesting." Maplepaw let out a snort. "That was the strangest thing I've ever heard. I've heard handsome, beautiful, amazing, awesome, but definitely not interesting." I rolled my eyes. "Nobody says you're an interesting cat? Now that's a strange thing to know." The brown tom let a small smirk creep onto his face, then stood up. "I think we're wasting our mentors' times by sitting here and chatting." Birchfur nodded pointedly. "Come on, Rosepaw, let's get you started." ~ It took a long time, but I finally caught my own mouse to bring back after training and practicing my hunting moves all morning. Hazelpaw was grumpily cleaning out the elders' den, and Maplepaw let out another snort of satisfaction. "Hey, look, Rosepaw finally caught her first mouse!" Stormpaw jeered. "It's so scrawny yet it's fatter than her!" Silverpaw laughed. I brushed past them, not even glancing at them while I brought it over to eat myself. Birchfur had said I could eat my own catch, and I was starving. Maplepaw selected a blackbird and joined Badgerpaw and Foxpaw at the Apprentice Rock. Silverpaw and Stormpaw were lounging in front of the den, looking at her snidely. "I'm sure you caught a much better one on your first day." I mewed drily. Silverpaw ruffled out her fur. "Well, I caught an enormous blackbird and Stormpaw caught an extremely fat vole." "Which happened to be in new-leaf!" Maplepaw called out from the Rock. "It looks as though it's leaf-fall now, when the prey is getting scrawnier." Silverpaw cast a glare at Maplepaw, who stared back evenly. Whatever, I'll fit in somehow, who cares what Silverpaw and Stormpaw have to say about me? Nobody seems to like them anyways. ~ "Alright, we're going to do some battle training, so I can access how much Rosepaw already knows." Birchfur instructed the next day. Silverpaw was staring at me and Stormpaw was whispering in her sister's ears, eyes glittering. Silverpaw smirked slightly and turned to Maplepaw. The brown tom listened to her, then turned and told her something bad, which made Silverpaw turn red. Smiling a bit, I trotted to Dawnpaw's side, who was pawing at the ground. "Does Silverpaw and Stormpaw always tease cats like that?" She looked up. "A bit," she muttered, "They usually target the newcomers or the cats who don't look welcome. They're nasty creatures." I nodded with a purr. "Sounds like them." "How do you cope with their teasing?" Dawnpaw mewed curiously, her pale amber eyes staring into my green ones. "It's not hard, if you just ignore them, they'll go away. Plus, who cares about them when you're just trying to show the whole Clan that you're worthy of being one of them?" I muttered. "Rosepaw and Silverpaw, you're up first." Silverpaw's eyes glowed dangerously as she bared her teeth. I just glared at her as she lunged. Dodging it quickly, I kicked her aside. The two of us circled each other quickly, and Silverpaw leaped into the air. I rolled forward, and let her crash behind me. Then I whirled around and met her, paws flailing. Soon Silverpaw was down. Then they had me fight Stormpaw, and she was just as easy. "Wow, you're good at fighting, Rosepaw!" Dawnpaw praised. Maplepaw joined them, "They'll see what you are one day." Then he was gone. I blinked after him, and Silverpaw passed by spitting, "You just fight like a rogue, that's all." Stormpaw nodded in agreement. Whatever. Chapter Three "Robinstar, GorseClan has crossed the border!" Darkmist charged in, "Silverpaw, Stormpaw, Echowhisper, and Nightwing are fighting them off, but they're outnumbered!" "Birchfur, Rosepaw, and Maplepaw, join me now!" Robinstar called out. Only three names? Well maybe we'll be enough to beat off that GorseClan patrol. Then Birchfur brushed by me, "Be safe." He begged, "I haven't taught you any fighting moves yet, but use whatever you know." I nodded determinedly, "Of course." We charged out, and I saw them almost immediately. "That's like half the Clan!" Birchfur gasped. Maplepaw's bushed out fur brushed by me as he whisked to Silverpaw and Stormpaw's rescue. Without thinking, I charged after Maplepaw, slashing and whirling as I passed GorseClan cats. I was careful not to kill them, because I learned about the warrior code the moment I was brought into the Clan. A huge white tom loomed in front of me, "Who's this?" He growled, "You look as puny as a rat!" 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